| The Qing Dynasty produced various virtual money methods,such as Jingqian,Dongqian,Xuanqian and Guoluyin.They were born out of physical money and gradually evolved into virtual money methods that were popular everywhere.The creation of Jingqian and the changes in its value were rooted in the city’s unique money market.At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty,the city was short of money,the standard system was inadequate,and the city was flooded with poor quality money produced by private minting.With the coexistence of small and standard coins in circulation,the solution to the problem of the difference in purchasing power between them in the form of a ratio became critical,giving rise to the 2:1 ratio of anchored coins.This virtual money method,known as Jingqian,functioned as a measure of value in the marketplace,and gradually evolved into the basic unit of accounting for shops and for the issuance of money stamps by private money shops.The change in the value of Jingqian was particularly evident in the price of goods and the silver-money ratio,both of which rose gradually with the depreciation of Jingqian.The over-issuance of money was the direct cause of the changes in the value of Jingqian.In the early years of Xianfeng,the Taiping movement broke out,and the huge military expenditure plunged the Qing government into a financial crisis.In order to alleviate the financial crisis,the Qing government implemented a loose monetary policy,casting large coins,issuing official bills and treasury notes,and setting up official money shops to over-issue Jingqian bills.The Qing government ignored the objective laws of economics and indiscriminately issued various new types of fictitious currency,the nominal value of which did not match the actual value,and when it was put on the market,it was resisted by the merchants and the people and depreciated sharply.With the influx of commodities into Beijing,the money flowed out of the city and all kinds of new-style fictitious money remained in the city,turning Beijing into a currency island and thus causing hyperinflation.After the disappearance of the money,the only thing left on the market was when the ten largest coins became the actual anchor of Jingqian,and the value of Jingqian changed with the depreciation of the ten largest coins.During the Xianfeng period,the various economic actors played repeatedly in the money market,with the Qing government’s repressive policies and popular resistance,the forces of each party waxing and waning.In order to implement the adventurous policy of big money,the Qing government imposed severe penalties on the public for arbitrary commutation,refusal to accept and private casting,but this did not have the desired effect.The Qing government manipulated the official money shops to make up for the financial deficit,but information asymmetry led to adverse selection and the shops floated money tickets at will for their own benefit,making huge profits.In order to transfer the crisis,the Qing government forced the people’s money shops to honour the government bills,and the people’s money shops were forced to take evasive measures,such as raising the price of private bills,arbitrage and refusal to open private bills.In this game,the Qing government lost all credibility,the minting tax was declining,market transactions were impacted and the financial order was on the verge of collapse.Eventually,with the tacit approval of the Qing government,the market was reshaped by private credit.The private money shops reissued private tickets,gaining the initiative to issue them,while the government money tickets continued to depreciate in value until they were abandoned.As a result,the value of Jingqian officially changed,and the anchoring relationship with the system was reduced from 2:1 to 10:1.As inflation in Beijing caused changes in the value of the Jingqian,we should learn from history: control the amount of money issued,strengthen the management of inflationary expectations,and strengthen and improve modern financial regulation. |
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